Shinigami, Come Home
by Lady Akita
Summary: Special Preventer Agent Duo Maxwell works under cover while fighting off serious depression. Mostly a light hearted fic. First in a series.


Title: Shinigami, Come Home

Author: Lady Akita

Rating:  PG-13 and up

Pairings:  none

Warnings: OC (not really important, but I think you'll like Ruppy), slight Duo angst, slight OOC, and scary Une

Disclaimer:  Gundam Wing is owned by, and is property of, Sunrise, Bandai, and other important companies that have no idea I wrote this and probably don't care anyway.  Ruppy, Linda, Lucifer, and the story below all belong to me.  I make no money off of this.  Written for entertainment and senior English projects.  Remember:  turnip + rock = …?  Ans.:  The three N's.  Nil, Nada, Nothing.  

~*~*~

Shinigami, Come Home

            He wanted to die. 

             He wanted to end the miserable darkness that cut at his heels and never gave him a second to breathe.  He could stand this darkness no longer.  He could feel his soul being sucked into the void that called for him, and he wanted no part in the madness that had taken his family before him.  

            He was stronger.  He would prove his worth to those who questioned him, his abilities and he accomplishments.  He would prove to the darkness that he wouldn't be beaten down by something only he could see.  He refused to give anyone, the darkness or otherwise, that satisfaction.  

            Not now. 

            Not today. 

~*~*~

            He stood outside the faceless building, staring up its sheer height for a single moment, pondering the skyline beyond it.  To those walking by he was just another face in the crowd, perhaps a tourist, one of the Earth-born people who didn't think the colonies could hold a building like the one before them.  

            To those who'd actually pay attention to something other than their own meaningless lives, he was a familiar face.  Every Friday for the last two years he stood and stared at the building.  He wore the same black jeans, boots, and leather bomber, his hair in the same three-meter braid. 

            Every week he would stand and stare at the building, or the skyline, they never could tell which, for hours on end.  Then he would leave.  Never once had he moved toward the building; never had he made an attempt to enter. 

             In the years after the wars, after the crisis that had almost shattered the new and 

weakly government, he was just another young man to judge his worth in his own way.  They didn't know him, they didn't understand him, but they knew he was looking for something.  So they left him to his own purposes.  They'd all been there themselves.

            But today was different.  The young man wasn't wearing his black outfit, and his hair wasn't in its braid.  He stood within the moment, looking at the skyline, hand raised against the artificial sunlight, while the same light gleamed off of his hair, pulled as it was in a high ponytail.  His other hand smoothed down his light, sporty polo and his khakis before he leaned down to grab the bag at his feet.  

            As he walked toward the building, several of the other 'regulars' smiled and wished him luck.  Apparently he had found whatever it was he was looking for.  

~*~*~

            The commander of the L2 Preventer Base of Operations sighed as he glared out of his window.  'A whole day wasted.  Again.  I don't know what Une is up to, but I'm up to my neck in it and I don't like the smell of it.'

            "Sir?"  His secretary was at the door, wearing a strained smile and holding a cup of hot coffee.  

            "Yes Linda?"  Rupert Gelding turned his chair to the door and took the offered cup with a brief smile.  "Thank you."

            "Your welcome, sir."  Linda's smile looked less strained for only a moment.  Then it was back full-fledged.  "Your next appointment is here.  He's rather impatient, sir."

            Rupert sighed.  The last thing he needed was another stuck up kid coming into his office to tell him what was what.  'Last appointment.  Then you can go home, Ruppy.  One more appointment.'

            "Thank you, Linda.  Send him right in."  

~*~*~

            He stood at the window in the waiting room, his back to the door where the secretary had just disappeared.  He stared out over the cityscape, trying to ignore the pressure of the darkness at the back of his mind.  It was impatient with him now.  It no longer wished to wait for him to crumble to its plans.

            The sound of a door opening drew him from his thoughts and he turned to the pleasant woman who had re-entered.  She smiled weakly at him and gestured to the door.  "He says to go right in."

            He nodded to her as he picked up his bag.  Stepping around her, he slung the bad over his shoulder and walked in without so much as a word.  He could feel her glare at his back.  

            He grinned.  The darkness was more than just impatient now – it feared what he was doing.  He wasn't going to crumble to it.

~*~*~

            Rupert looked up from his papers as the door opened again.  He raised an eyebrow at the grin on the young man's face, but stared back at the kid without question.  The kid walked up to the desk and let his bag fall to the floor.  

            Rupert allowed a small frown for that.  Security should not have allowed that this far into the building.  He'd have to do some checking into the status of his team, six-month check up or not.

            "So you're Rupert Gelding, eh?"  The kid smirked and leaned against the desk.  "How much did Une-babe have to pay you to get out here, Ruppy?  Was it in cash or unmentionables?"

            Eyebrow raised to the limit, Rupert suppressed the urge to glare at the kid.  

            "I am Rupert Gelding and the reasons for my assignment here are no concern to anyone beyond myself and Commander Une."  Rupert gestured to a chair.  "Please have a seat, Mr.…?"  He glances down at the papers littering his desk.

            "It's Martin.  David Martin."  The kid's voice was full of suppressed laughter.  When Rupert looked up at him suspiciously, he only grinned.  "Yeah, I know, I'm not on your list.  The other guy is stuck in Security at the moment."

            Rupert's frown only deepened.  "Look…"

            'David' held up his hand.  "I'm already here, Security's tied up at the moment, and do you really want to deal with throwing me out?  The paper work, the press, the annoying phone calls…it'll be easier to just hear me out."

            It seemed as though Rupert's frown was becoming a permanent fixture.

~*~*~

            Duo had to grin at the guy in front of him.  He cut a perfect picture, attempting not to actually glare and frowning like a displeased Headmaster.  In the former pilot's mind, it was priceless.   

            "Look, don't have a coronary.  This was the only way I could get into your office without the entire hassle.  I don't have the time for that."  Duo gave.  "I only need to talk to you about someone Une-babe has you looking for."

            The middle-aged man in front of him did look like he was about to have said coronary.  He was in good shape, looked sharp in his Preventer's field uniform, hair cut to regulation length, but his face was turning a dangerous shade of violet.  "Look, kid.  I don't have time for this myself.  You just overstepped forty different security regulations, and you expect my to just 'push it under the rug'?"

            "No, I didn't say that.  I said that you didn't want to throw me out." Duo grinned, holding back a laugh.  "The paperwork would be a bitch, and Une has be pissed you're getting the info she sent you up here for."

            Rupert snorted.  "And you're the man with all the information?"

            "I've got your info.  This could be beneficial to the both of us."  

            "Just how is that, Mr. Martin?"

            "Simple.  I know you're looking for a guy who goes by the name Lucifer Yoiki.  Une has been searching for him for a while now.  I know it's a big thing on her list of 'To Do's' and I know she's getting impatient."  Duo leaned closer to Rupert.  "It's not very pretty when she gets impatient, is it Mr. Gelding?  Or do I call you Ruppy?"

             "It's Commander Gelding to you, Mr. Martin.  And I don't take threats kindly."  Rupert glared at the pretentious young man. 

            Who snorted with laughter.  "Who's handing out threats?  I'm just saying that Une isn't nice to be around when she's upset."  He watched Rupert for another moment, watching the man try to keep from doing something irrational. 'Guy does the eyebrow thing better than 'Fei ever could.'

           "Relax man.  Things are going just fine here."

            "What do you want?"  Rupert snapped, past feed up with this kid.  "And who are you really?"  'And why do you look so familiar, you annoying brat?'

            Duo smirked.  "I'm known as David Martin in and around L2.  I'm an artist and a writer.  I want to set some things straight.  And I…"

            There was a sharp knock at the door, interrupting Duo in mid-sentence.  Rupert looked even more annoyed and Duo just let his grin widen.  He hadn't had this much fun in a long time.  

           That and the darkness seemed rather upset at him.  Its power was weakening and it wasn't happy.  

            'A good day indeed.'

~*~*~

            Rupert glared at the kid in front of him before looking at the door.  "Yes?"

            Linda poked her head into the office.  "Security just called sir.  They want to know if you'd like them to handle the situation."

            "What situation?"  Rupert snapped.

            Linda blinked in surprise before answering.  "About that young man, sir." She nodded at Duo. 

            Rupert sighed.  "No, I'm taking care of it.  Thank you Linda."

            Linda nodded, blinking again in surprise of the quick dismissal,  and left.

            "Problems with the hired help?"  Duo asked, smirk in place.  "Not that I don't understand.  Good help is always hard to find."  He paused.  

           "Which is why when help is offered to you, you don't turn it down."

            "You were saying something before we were interrupted." Rupert continued, ignoring the comments.

            "Oh, right.  You asked me who I was and what I wanted."  Duo moved to a chair and sat down, though 'lounged' would be the way Rupert would have described it.  He looked like a man who knew his place in the world and was comfortable in exploiting it.  "I told you what I did for a living and want I wanted.  Would you care for me to elaborate, or am I going to be thrown out the door?"  
            Rupert reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose, attempting to still the migraine he could feel growing with each passing second.  

            Duo decided to take pity on the man.  "Commander Une sent you to L2 in search of a man named Lucifer Yoiki.  Her reasons to search for this man are not clear to you and while you are doing your best to find him, your job has not been accomplished for a lack of data.  What you do not know about this man, aside from the knowledge that he was a soldier during the wars, was that attempted, on three separate occasions, to over throw either higher ranking officers or our new government.  His is also a big-wig underground – dealing in arms and drugs.  The man's a top priority for the Preventers.  We believe that he's storing up for another revolt."

            He paused and looked at Rupert for a moment.  Rupert just stared at him for a second before shaking himself out of his stupor.  'Wake up man!  You're a top notch Preventer's Agent.  You can't let things like this effect you, or at least not let it show that it is effecting you.'

            Rupert gestured for the kid to continue after he had gotten himself under control.

            "That's what you're doing up here."  Duo smirked again.  "As for wanting to set things straight, I'm going to need to speak with Une."  He holds up his hand to forestall Rupert's objection.  "You're going to have to trust me when I say that this is a must.  The information I have is top-security.  Beyond going through you, I can only get a hold of her through a secure Preventer channel and hacking into your computer systems is more trouble than its worth.  This is one of those 'you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours' deals."

            "And how exactly will this 'scratch my back'?"  Rupert asked, eyebrow raised once again.  

            Duo smirked.  "Because you won't be blamed if, and when, Lucifer attempts his revolt."

~*~*~

            Duo smiled at the ceiling.  Rupert had had him moved into on of the conference rooms while he handled some of the more pressing issues that were falling down around his ears.  Between the Security screw up, the delayed interview, and his secretary's decision to take some immediate sick leave, Rupert had seemed like he was going to burst a vein.  

            But Une was nothing if not fanatical in her choice of commander for her other operation bases.  Which would be why Rupert was working double time to get through this relatively minor crisis.  Duo wouldn't hold that against him.  He remembered the pain of multi-multi-tasking, and knew annoying the man now wouldn't be prudent.  And Duo Maxwell was nothing if not prudent.  Just ask anyone who knew him.  David Martin on the other hand…

            Which would be why he was staring up at the ceiling – Duo was holding David back from making any practical jokes.  Just trying to keep himself occupied.

            The darkness was cowering in the corner.  Cliché and all, but very, very true.  And he was loving every minute of it.  He could tell that it was almost gone.  Just a little further in this very direction, as long as he stopped hiding and completed this self-imposed mission…

            POOF!  Good-bye darkness.  Hello light.  He could hardly wait.  Now all that needed to happen was Rupert jumping aboard the bandwagon.  

            Duo snorted and his smile faded.  Rupert was making this very difficult for him.  If the man was just a little more sloppy, Duo would already be on Earth, would be at Preventer's Headquarters' in old New York City, would be talking to Une face to face. And he wouldn't be in this mess right now.  Unfortunately, Une was too good at her job and in her choices, and Rupert Gelding was no slob.  

            So Duo was stuck on L2, for the moment.  All he had to do was convince Rupert to let him talk to Une, had to convince Ruppy that he was the real deal and not some psycho off the streets.  Not that that would be the wrong impression, mind you.  but it certainly wouldn't help his cause any.  

            Duo began to wonder when the monkey wrench was going to be tossed in.  Things were going too smoothly for him to be comfortable.

            That's when the door opened.  

~*~*~

            Rupert stood in front of the conference room door, staring at it in a blind sort of pain that only comes from days involving world wars, terrorist activities, and the contemplation of calling Commander Une.  The latter was the thought on the L2 Commander's mind at the moment.  Sighing, Rupert reached for the door and pushed it open, not quite ready to deal with the reason behind his splitting migraine. 

            Opening the door revealed said reason to be staring at the ceiling with a smirk, lean body leaning the conference chair back to its limits and booted feet set flat on the surface of the table. 

            Rupert's eye was about to begin twitching. 

            "Hey, Ruppy!  Back so soon?  Didn't think you could accomplish so much so fast!" The kid was smirking at him now and Rupert had to resist the sudden urge to kill him.  "So, how can I help ya?"

            'Stop being so damn cheerful, stop smirking and shut up for a moment will suffice for a beginning.'  Rupert snapped in his mind, control working overtime to keep from saying any of that allowed.  

            Stilling the hand that was moving once again to the bridge of his nose, Rupert nodded at the door.  "Follow me."

            The kid stood up and grabbed his bag, the infuriating grin still on his face.  He cocked his head, suspicious, though only a glint in his eyes would show proof.  "Why?  Where are we going?"

            Rupert swallowed a growl and forced himself to stay civil.  He wasn't one of Une's highest-ranking subordinates for nothing.  "You wanted to speak with Commander Une, did you not?"

            The kid's smirk widened minutely.  "Yeah, and your point is sweetheart?  Look, I've got a million things that need to be doing.  If your just gonna be jerking my chain, I'll leave now."

            Rupert couldn't hold back the glare.  "You're getting your call.  Follow me."  He turned on his heel and walked out the door, repressing the urge to stomp like a four year-old in mid-tantrum.  "Also, you try leaving and Security will have you in a holding cell on charges of harassment and breaking and entering, all before you could say 'later'.  Paperwork be damned."

            The kid laughed.  "Who's handing out the threats now, eh?"

            Rupert just kept walking. 

~*~*~

            "Why the sudden urgency, Rupert?" 

            Commander Une was an imposing person no matter the situation, and today was no different, Duo noted with a nod as he stood out of view of the call screen.  Hair pulled back in a severe bun, glasses in place, and uniform looking above regulation, Une was almost as imposing now as she was during the wars.  Duo was just glad that she wasn't on the other side at the moment. 

            Or at least he hoped she wasn't.

            "I've had an interesting day, Commander, let's just leave it at that." Rupert sighed.  He smiled wearily at his commander.  "I've got some new information on that look up you wanted me to do."

            Une raised an eyebrow.  "You do."

            Rupert nodded.  "In fact, I've someone who has approached me knowing about the task you'd given me.  He'd walked in this afternoon, straight past Security, and right into my office.  I wouldn't have known anything was amiss if he hadn't spoken up."

            "Is that so?  I trust you handled the Security issue in a satisfactory manner Rupert."  

            "Yes Ma'am."  Rupert shared a smile with Une, both so cold that Duo shivered.  

            'I'm just going to be happy that they're not talking about me.'  

            "What information did this gentleman have for you, Rupert?"

            Rupert frown, anger apparent.  "He wouldn't speak of it with me Ma'am.  He demanded that he speak directly to you."  He only nodded at Une's, again, raised eyebrow.  "He's here right now, Commander."

            She nodded.  "Let me speak with him then."

            Rupert nodded and turned from the screen.  Looking straight a Duo, he smiled evilly.  

           "Floor is all yours, Mr. Martin."

            Duo just smirked and moved into Une's range of sight.

~*~*~

            Une watched the darkened shape move from the corner of the room and into the light.  If she hadn't been as well trained as she was, and with as many years under her belt, she would have reacted in a way other than shaking her head.  

            "I should have known that it was you, Maxwell."  She deadpanned. 

           Duo just smirked.  "Glad to see you too, Une-babe.  You know the routine.  I always pop in at the most unexpected times.  Keeps you lot on your toes."

            "Yes, just what would we do without you?"  Une allowed herself a smile.  "Gelding, your visitor is one of my on-and-off agents.  Commander Rupert Gelding, meet Special Preventer Agent Duo Maxwell.  You've forgone communications for a while now Maxwell.  I had expected to hear from you sooner."

            Duo shrugged.  "Well, real life does tend to get in the way of special messages, now doesn't it?"  He smirked at Une.  "But, actually, I've been working on something that I thought you just might be interested in.  Remember ol' Lucifer?"

           Her eyes narrowed.  "What about him?"

          "Well, a certain David Martin, artist and writer extraordinaire, has found his way into Lucifer's charms."  Duo sat down behind the desk and propped his feet on it.  "Lucy is planning something awful big in the next couple of days."

               "And your point would be Maxwell?"  Une glared at him.  "This is why our conversations take so long.  I'm of half a mind that you do this on purpose, Maxwell."

            "Well, it is difficult for me to resist your charming personality Une-babe.  Its just so…charming."  Duo smirked, ignoring the glare; his immunity to death glares having been re-enforced in the years since he'd first meet Heero Yuy.  

"Somehow I doubt that my personality is all that spectacular Maxwell."  

Duo shrugged.  "Ok, than just one or two of them."  He waved off Une's intensified glare and continued.  "Look, if you can get Heero and Wufei up here by tomorrow, I can land Lucifer for you."

"Is this a guarantee, or just you being you Maxwell?"  Une sighed.

"A guarantee."  Duo's expression solidified into his old 'Shinigami' from the war.  "Lucy threatened David's family.  He will not get away with that."

"You are letting personal conflict effect your judgment Maxwell."  Une scolded, sounding as if she was just repeating a mantra that never reached intended ears.  She sighed.  "How soon do you need them there?"  There was sound of keys being hit in the background.  "I can have them out in five hours if need be."

Duo laughed.  "Efficient as always Une.  But I don't believe they need to be here that quickly.  I've a meeting with Lucy in a day, and I'll need them there for that."

"I'll have them on the 0700 commercial shuttle to L2.  They'll be on L2 by 1200.  Will that be sufficient?"  

"That'll be fine."  Duo turned to Rupert, holding up a disk.  "I am able to upload information to Une, correct?"

            "Yes."  Rupert nodded and waved his hand at the desktop.  "The password in Mindie."  

"Thank you." Duo started typing, popping the disk into the computer.  A few moments later, "Une, here is all the information I can send to you at the moment.  Everything else I'm afraid is too sensitive."

Une nodded.  "Received.  Yuy and Chang will contact you before they leave."

"Thank you, Commander.  Good day."  

"Thank you, Duo.  I do appreciate this.  Just don't do anything that will get you killed.  Winner would never forgive me." Une smiled.  "Good day, Maxwell, Gelding."  She cut the connection.

Duo stared at the screen for a few moments before turning to Rupert.  "I've got some information for you also.  Take a seat.  This may be a bit."  He smirked. 

~*~*~

The young man exited the building, staring up one last time at the way the exiting light shone off of the sheer metal finish.  Turning from it with a smile, he threw his leather bomber on, pulled his now braided hair from its confines, and walked away in a half-stalk.  

He was a man on a mission, and he no longer had anything to hold him back.  The darkness was returned to its locked box deep within his mind, and he now had a purpose other than fighting it.  

He was home. And woe to any whom threatened his peace and his family.  He wouldn't be giving any quarter to those who stood in his path.

Shinigami was home once again.

~*~*~

Owari. 

Lady Akita © June 2003


End file.
